§111πέμπει σὺν δορὶ καὶ χερὶ πράκτορι §112θούριος ὄρνις Τευκρίδ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αἶαν, §113οἰωνῶν βασιλεὺς βασιλεῦσι νε- §115ῶν ὁ κελαινός, ὅ τ᾽ ἐξόπιν ἀργᾶς, §116φανέντες ἴκταρ μελάθρων §117χερὸς ἐκ δοριπάλτου §118παμπρέπτοις ἐν ἕδραισι, §119βοσκόμενοι λαγίναν, ἐρικύμονα φέρματα, γένναν, §120βλαβέντα λοισθίων δρόμων.
sends with spear and avenging hand, the impetuous bird to the Teucrian land, the king of birds to the kings of the ships, the black one, and the one white behind, appearing near the palace, on the spear-brandishing hand side, in highly conspicuous seats, feeding on the hare's race, pregnant with offspring, hindered from its final courses.
§121αἴλινον αἴλινον εἰπέ, τὸ δ᾽ εὖ νικάτω.
Sing woe, woe, but let the good prevail.
§122κεδνὸς δὲ στρατόμαντις ἰδὼν δύο λήμασιν ἴσους §123Ἀτρεΐδας μαχίμους ἐδάη λαγοδαίτας §124πομπούς τ᾽ ἀρχάς:
But the trusty army-seer, seeing the two warlike sons of Atreus of equal temper, recognized them as the hare-devourers, and the conducting leaders.
§125οὕτω δ᾽ εἶπε τερᾴζων: §126“χρόνῳ μὲν ἀγρεῖ §127Πριάμου πόλιν ἅδε κέλευθος, §128πάντα δὲ πύργων §129κτήνη †πρόσθε τὰ δημιοπληθῆ §130Μοῖρ᾽ ἀλαπάξει πρὸς τὸ βίαιον:
And thus he spoke, prophesying: "In time indeed this expedition captures Priam's city, and all the public possessions of the towers, previously abundant, Fate shall violently ravage.
Only let no grudge from the gods darken the great curb forged beforehand for Troy, this army.
οἴκτῳ γὰρ ἐπί- §135φθονος Ἄρτεμις ἁγνὰ §136πτανοῖσιν κυσὶ πατρὸς §137αὐτότοκον πρὸ λόχου μογερὰν πτάκα θυομένοισι: §138στυγεῖ δὲ δεῖπνον αἰετῶν. ” §139αἴλινον αἴλινον εἰπέ, τὸ δ᾽ εὖ νικάτω.
For, out of pity, holy Artemis is resentful against the winged hounds of her father, sacrificing the wretched, cowering hare with her unborn young before delivery; and she loathes the eagles' feast." Sing woe, woe, but let the good prevail.
§140“τόσον περ εὔφρων, καλά, §141δρόσοισι λεπτοῖς μαλερῶν λεόντων §142πάντων τ᾽ ἀγρονόμων φιλομάστοις §143θηρῶν ὀβρικάλοισι τερπνά, §144τούτων αἴνει ξύμβολα κρᾶναι, §145δεξιὰ μέν, κατάμομφα δὲ φάσματα [στρουθῶν].
"Though so kindly, O beautiful one, to the tender young of fierce lions and pleasant to the breast-loving sucklings of all wild beasts of the field, consent to fulfill these omens, the favorable yet blameworthy visions of the birds.
§146ἰήιον δὲ καλέω Παιᾶνα, §147μή τινας ἀντιπνόους §148Δαναοῖς χρονίας ἐχενῇδας §150ἀπλοίας τεύξῃ, §151σπευδομένα θυσίαν ἑτέραν ἄνομόν τιν᾽, ἄδαιτον §152νεικέων τέκτονα σύμφυτον, §153οὐ δεισήνορα.
And I invoke Apollo the Healer, lest she bring any adverse winds to the Danaans, keeping them long from sailing, urging another sacrifice, lawless, feastless, a natural creator of feuds, showing no fear of a husband.
μίμνει γὰρ φοβερὰ παλίνορτος §155οἰκονόμος δολία μνάμων μῆνις τεκνόποινος. §156τοιάδε Κάλχας ξὺν μεγάλοις ἀγαθοῖς ἀπέκλαγξεν §157μόρσιμ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ὀρνίθων ὁδίων οἴκοις βασιλείοις:
For there remains a terrible, rising-again, treacherous keeper of the house, a mindful, child-avenging wrath." Such fateful things, together with great blessings, did Calchas shriek forth from the birds on the way for the royal house.
In unison with these, sing woe, woe, but let the good prevail.
Zeus, whoever he may be, if this name is well-pleasing to him to be called, by this I address him.
§163οὐκ ἔχω προσεικάσαι §164πάντ᾽ ἐπισταθμώμενος §165πλὴν Διός, εἰ τὸ μάταν §166ἀπὸ φροντίδος ἄχθος §167χρὴ βαλεῖν ἐτητύμως.
I have nothing to compare though weighing all things except Zeus, if the vain burden from my mind I must truly cast away.
Nor he who of old was great, swelling with all-conquering boldness, shall even be spoken of as having once been.
And he who arose next has departed, having met his conqueror.
But he who zealously shouts songs of victory to Zeus shall hit upon wisdom altogether.
He who guided mortals to be wise, who established 'learning through suffering' to hold as a sovereign rule.
And there drips in sleep before the heart the pain-remembering trouble; and even to the unwilling comes wisdom.
The favor of the gods is indeed violent, sitting on their solemn bench.
§184καὶ τόθ᾽ ἡγεμὼν ὁ πρέ- §185σβυς νεῶν Ἀχαιικῶν, §186μάντιν οὔτινα ψέγων, §187ἐμπαίοις τύχαισι συμπνέων, §188εὖτ᾽ ἀπλοίᾳ κεναγγεῖ βαρύ- §189νοντ᾽ Ἀχαιικὸς λεώς, §190Χαλκίδος πέραν ἔχων παλιρρό- §191χθοις ἐν Αὐλίδος τόποις:
And then the elder leader of the Achaean fleet, blaming no prophet, breathing in unison with the sudden fortunes, when the Achaean host was weighed down by the sailing-preventing, food-emptying delay, occupying the region opposite Chalcis in the roaring tides of Aulis.
§192πνοαὶ δ᾽ ἀπὸ Στρυμόνος μολοῦσαι §193κακόσχολοι, νήστιδες, δύσορμοι, §194βροτῶν ἄλαι, §195νεῶν <τε> καὶ πεισμάτων ἀφειδεῖς, §196παλιμμήκη χρόνον τιθεῖσαι §197τρίβῳ κατέξαινον ἄνθος Ἀργους.
And the winds coming from Strymon, causing harmful delay, bringing hunger, keeping them from port, causing men to wander, unsparing of ships and cables, making the time doubly long, were wasting away the flower of Argos by attrition.
§198ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ πικροῦ §199χείματος ἄλλο μῆχαρ §200βριθύτερον πρόμοισιν §201μάντις ἔκλαγξεν προφέρων Ἄρτεμιν, ὥστε χθόνα βά- §202κτροις ἐπικρούσαντας Ἀτρείδας δάκρυ μὴ κατασχεῖν:
But when another remedy for the bitter storm, still more grievous to the leaders, the prophet cried aloud, bringing forward Artemis, so that the Atreidae struck the ground with their staffs and could not hold back their tears.
§205ἄναξ δ᾽ ὁ πρέσβυς τότ᾽ εἶπε φωνῶν: §206“βαρεῖα μὲν κὴρ τὸ μὴ πιθέσθαι, §207βαρεῖα δ᾽, εἰ §208τέκνον δαΐξω, δόμων ἄγαλμα, §209μιαίνων παρθενοσφάγοισι §210ῥείθροις πατρῴους χέρας πρὸ βωμοῦ.
And the elder king then spoke, saying: "A heavy fate indeed is disobedience, and heavy too if I shall slaughter my child, the ornament of my house, defiling a father's hands with streams of slaughtered virgin's blood before the altar.
§211τί τῶνδ᾽ ἄνευ κακῶν,
Which of these is free from evils?
How can I become a deserter of the fleet, failing the alliance?
§214παυσανέμου γὰρ θυσίας παρθενίου θ᾽ αἵματος ὀρ- §215γᾷ περιόργῳ σφ᾽ ἐπιθυμεῖν θέμις. εὖ γὰρ εἴη. ”
For it is lawful for them to desire with over-violent passion the wind-staying sacrifice and the virgin blood.
§216ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἀνάγκας ἔδυ λέπαδνον §217φρενὸς πνέων δυσσεβῆ τροπαίαν §220ἄναγνον, ἀνίερον, τόθεν §221τὸ παντότολμον φρονεῖν μετέγνω.
For may all be well." But when he had put on the yoke of necessity, breathing an impious, unholy, unsanctified change of mind, from then he changed his thoughts to dare all things.
For wretched delusion, counselor of evil, the first cause of ruin, makes mortals bold.
§224ἔτλα δ᾽ οὖν θυτὴρ γενέ- §225σθαι θυγατρός, γυναικοποί- §226νων πολέμων ἀρωγὰν §227καὶ προτέλεια ναῶν.
So he dared to become the sacrificer of his daughter, to aid a war waged for a woman, and as a preliminary offering for the ships.
Her prayers and her calling on her father and her maiden life, the war-loving judges set at nothing.
§231φράσεν δ᾽ ἀόζοις πατὴρ μετ᾽ εὐχὰν §232δίκαν χιμαίρας ὕπερθε βωμοῦ §233πέπλοισι περιπετῆ παντὶ θυμῷ §234προνωπῆ §235λαβεῖν ἀέρ-
And her father, after the prayer, ordered the attendants to seize her, like a goat above the altar, wrapped in her garments, with all their heart, drooping forward, to lift her u-